Rowing is a specialized sport that generally is not introduced to an athlete until high school or college. While rowing, the athlete sits in the boat facing backwards (towards the stern), and uses the oars which are held in place by the oarlocks to propel the boat forward (towards the bow). The rower places the blade in the water, ties his or her feet into shoes or footstretchers, then applies pressure to the oar by simultaneously pushing the moveable seat toward the bow of the boat by extending the legs (this movement is called the drive). The rower then removes the oar from the water and compresses the legs which moves the seat towards the stern of the boat (this movement is called the recovery), allowing the boat to glide through the water. In a multi-person boat, these motions must be executed in precise synchrony with all other rowers in the boat.
The novice rower must learn these and other new motions as well as the physics behind the application of power. He or she must understand the techniques needed to increase the speed of the boat on the drive and to allow the boat to “run out” or glide a longer distance (called the run/recovery) between each application of power, i.e., the next stroke.
Most novice rowers are introduced to the sport by rowing an eight person shell, which is a boat having eight rowers and a coxswain. The coxswain acts as an in-boat coach, strategist, and driver. The coxswain sits in the stern of the boat and can only see the “stroke of the boat” (the person sitting in the front who sets the pace and cadence for all the rowers in the boat). Each rower sits in a line behind the stroke seat. The boat is approximately two feet wide and 55 feet long. The coxswain can see what the stroke is doing and can see the oars of the other rowers, but has no other data on how those other seven rowers are performing. An experienced coxswain “feels” what the boat is doing but cannot assess how any of the other seven rowers are impacting the progress of the boat.
Rowers improve by practicing drills which are overseen by the coxswain in the stern of the boat and/or by the coach who is moving alongside the rowers in a launch. Since the sides of the boat (the gunnels) are four to six inches above the seat platform, the coach cannot see what each individual rower is doing or whether each rower is synchronized with stroke.
There are on board devices currently on the market to aid in coaching rowers. Some of these devices measure rowers' stroke cadence as a whole. Other devices such as accelerometers and global positioning service (GPS) devices are used which provide boat movement data only. Many of these devices are heavy, making them less than desirable in a sport where lightness translates to speed. Moreover, some include sensors that are attached through wires to riggers or foot stretchers can impede free movement of the rowers. There are no devices that measure or show data relating to the performance of an individual rower or comparing the individual rower to the other rowers within the same boat.